Grace Holmes Carlson (1906–1992) was an American

Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...

politician.

Background

Grace Holmes Carlson was born on November 13, 1906, in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

and studied in local Catholic schools.GRACE CARLSON: An Inventory of Her Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Career

Carlson was a professor of psychology at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. In 1940, Carlson was the Socialist Workers Party candidate for

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

in Minnesota, receiving almost 9,000 votes. In 1941, as a leading member of the Socialist Workers Party she was imprisoned under the

Smith Act The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3d session, ch. 439, , is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of th ...

together with

Farrell Dobbs Farrell Dobbs (July 25, 1907 – October 31, 1983) was an American Trotskyist, trade unionist, politician, and historian. Early years Dobbs was born in Queen City, Missouri, where his father was a worker in a coal company garage. The family ...

and many other SWP leaders for opposing the US involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After her 16-month prison sentence, she became an activist for better conditions for women prisoners. In 1948, Carlson ran as the Socialist Workers Party vice presidential candidate in

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

with Dobbs as presidential candidate. In 1950, she ran again as a U.S. House of Reperesentatives candidate for Minnesota's 5th district 1950. In 1952, Carlson left the SWP, citing conflict with her

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

beliefs.

James P. Cannon James Patrick Cannon (February 11, 1890 – August 21, 1974) was an American Trotskyist and a leader of the Socialist Workers Party. Born on February 11, 1890, in Rosedale, Kansas, the son of Irish immigrants with strong socialist convicti ...

, the central leader of the SWP famously penned the article "How We Won Grace Carlson and How We Lost Her" following her resignation which focused on the extreme right-wing pressures of the McCarthy period as the material basis for Carlson's departure.

Death

Grace Carlson died age 85 on July 7, 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Grace 1906 births 1992 deaths American anti-war activists American Christian socialists Christian communists People convicted under the Smith Act People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota University of Minnesota faculty Politicians from Minneapolis 1948 United States vice-presidential candidates Female candidates for Vice President of the United States Women in Minnesota politics Socialist Workers Party (United States) politicians Socialist Workers Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Catholic socialists Female Christian socialists Candidates in the 1948 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians Minnesota socialists

Background

Career

Death

See also

References